Bush to Block Sewer Funding

Congress appears poised to approve billions of dollars to help
cities renovate their aging sewage systems. That could prevent a lot
of sewage dumps into lakes and rivers. But the funding – if approved by Congress –
might not get the President’s signature. Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

Congress appears poised to approve billions of dollars to help
cities renovate their aging sewage systems. That could prevent a lot
of sewage dumps into lakes and rivers. But the funding – if approved by Congress –
might not get the President’s signature. Tracy Samilton reports:


Many American cities have sewage systems that dump untreated sewage
into nearby waters during heavy rainstorms. The problem contributes to
beach closings, and in some places, sewage even backs up into people’s
basements.


But the price tag to fix one mid-size sewage treatment system can be
hundreds of millions of dollars. Without federal help that can be out
of reach for many cities. Katherine Baer of American Rivers says the
problem will be worse soon:


“We have systems all around the country kind of hitting that place
where there’s a lot of population growth and older systems, and all of
a sudden they’ve kind of come up with a perfect storm causing a lot of
sewage.”


There’s considerable support for the funding in the Senate, but no
support at all in the Bush Administration. The President has
indictated he will veto the bills if they reach his desk.


For the Environment Report, I’m Tracy Samilton.

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